The Menno Melange

Easter was such a crazy time, I didn’t even think to share about our Easter weekend, but I think I will now. Perhaps as a story to tell, but most like as a warning to all youth pastors and sponsors around.

So, Saturday night Will and I were in charge of the youth at our church for the pre-Easter sleepover, as it is the tradition of our church. The youth sleep over, then prepare a pancake supper for anyone who wants to get up by 8:00 before the Easter service on Sunday. The evening started off fairly well, as Will and I hid Kinder eggs all over the sanctuary, and had the youth find them. That turned out to be quite fun to watch, and the youth didn’t try to hide their excitement. One of them wasn’t found, and no doubt was discovered by an unsuspecting congregant the next morning. The youth then painted eggs, helped us set up for the morning, and played games.

After we watched a movie, I was ready for bed, and I thought everyone else was too (the girls had all set up their sleeping bags in the room with me, the guys in another room). Nope. After my first hour or so of some kind of sleep, I realized none of the girls were in the room with me. Maybe as a sponsor, or even as the pastors wife, it should have occured to me that I should go find them, but it didn’t. I fell back asleep. Later on in the night, a rush of girls ran past me, from one set of doors to the other. Huh?! Oh well…Zzzzzz. Later on that night, I mean morning, same thing. I was woken by a the girls running past me again, giggling and such. Huh?! Whatever….Zzzzz. Then, I woke up by 7am, to find that NONE of the girls were in the room sleeping, not even their sleeping bags!! HUH?!

We began preparations for the breakfast, and the girls told me they went to another room to watch a movie. Oh, okay. That seemed alright to me, until people started to tell Will and I how nice our car looked this morning, and how nice it was of us to decorate our car for Easter, and maybe we could have used more toilet paper. HUH?!

So, the moral of the story is, if you have a youth sleepover:
a) Don’t bother bringing a sleeping bag
b) Have less sugar around
and
c) Hide all the toilet paper!

P.S.
I have written an entry before this one for the same day!

As it was our 6 month-aversary, Will and I went up to the cottage last week. We went expecting extreme cold weather, and muddy roads unfit to drive on (meaning we’d have to walk a kilometer and a half with all our stuff), but we didn’t care. We wanted to be up there anyway.

When we got there we were pleasantly surprised. It was 20+ degrees, plus driveable roads. Bonus! We were able to drive right in, and enjoy a canoe ride that evening. We were surprised to see 5 beaver dams along the shore, which is unusual, and we even surprised one such beaver (and he surprised us) as he swam out and slapped his tail on the lake. Wow, was that ever loud. So, it was actually Thursday afternoon that we saw the beaver, not Saturday night (as the title suggests). We also saw our friend the loon, and the heron, as well.

We had to turn the water on, as it had been off all winter, but we didn’t know how to do it. We figured the switch must be in the well somewhere, so we lifted the concrete lid off the well, and we both took a turn climbing inside to fiddle with the taps. This involved Will lowering me down slowly, with the expected cuts and scrapes. Will went down upsidedown, with my holding his legs in place. Suddenly it occured to me, “Maybe there are some instructions in the dining hall!” Lo and behold, there were more than instructions. There was a big ON/OFF switch that was connected to everything, including the water. Hey, neither of us claim to be rocket scientists.

We did the traditional hike to Ol’ Baldy (that offers a great view of the lake), and because the trees were still bare, we could see more of the lake than I ever have before. We actually got sun burnt! We did a lot of reading, and got some work done on our musical, including lots of Boggle and Scrabble. Hey, neither of us claim to be “cool”.

We heard on MOOSE fm (Bancroft’s radio station) that it was going to rain hard on Saturday morning, and we didn’t need to find out the hard way that lots of rain= muddy roads = not getting home for Sunday when I had to play organ. It started to rain by 6am, so we bolted outta there. Having safely gotten out, and with the rest of the day at our disposal, we decided to pop over to Peterborough to visit some friends of mine, who are staying at one of their parents’ place. We were welcomed to a delicious pancake lunch, then went to a quaint coffee shop in Colbourn to finish catching up.

We then continued home.

Everytime I think I’d like to stop writing about job hunting, there’s always something else that comes up. I hope you’re not tired of reading about my job woes. I’m certainly tired of having job woes. And the fact that I only ever write about my failure to find a job sure makes me look pathetic. And it shows that there’s nothing else going on in my life right now. Okay, enough self-deprication.

I do have good news, though.

And it’s not about the horse farm. I gave up on that. The lady said I was too slow (never mind the fact that I had a bad cold and a mild fever while I was working for her), so I told her she probably shouldn’t rely on me (and I didn’t want her to fire all her part-timers so she could hire me). And when I went back for my pay she ripped me off, because my work “wasn’t worth much to her”.

And it’s not about the YMCA job, ’cause I didn’t get that either.

And it’s not about the program assistant job I thought I’d get, that’s 4 Saturdays a month at the nursing home I used to work at, and still play music at. In fact, that’s where my day started. I found out I didn’t get that job, and I was pretty upset. I thought, “for sure I’ll at least get THIS job, because I’ve already worked there, the residents know me and love me, they’ve seen how I work with programs, and who, but me, would want to work on only Saturdays, anyway?” But I was wrong. They wanted someone with the right degree. So, I was pretty upset.

Then I decided I have to take this job thing into my own hands. Obviously I’m going for jobs that I’m not qualified for. And what jobs am I getting? MUSIC jobs. I’m the MUSIC coordinator at one nursing home, a SINGER/PIANIST at another nursing home and an ORGANIST at a church. What am I learning from this? MAYBE I should try for music jobs.

So I, somewhat on a whim (based on a notion that I’ve been disregarding these last few monthes), popped over to the OTHER nursing home in town, to offer my services as a freelance musician. I expected the worst. But, as it happened, the program coordinator was actually IN, and when I told her what I had to offer, she actually didn’t have any musicians coming in, and she actually WAS interested in what I had to offer. On top of that, when I told her that I was also interested in chaplaincy, she said that they don’t have a chaplain at this time, and she is trying to convince the ‘higher upers” that one is needed, and would I be interested in doing come chaplaincy as well? BINGO! Normally I would try to NOT count my chickens before they hatch (ie. write a blog excitedly about a job I may or may not get….okay, you’re right. I do that all the time), but the twinkle in her eyes at the thought of having a musician/chaplain around (and the fact that she said she was practically positive she could get something together for me), makes me think that my days of job woe are over!

Talking to the other nursing home program coordinators in town after meeting this one (both of whom I work for), made me realize that perhaps God has a hand in all this, too. They both said that this coordinator has been looking for a musician lately, and has really been wanting to find one. What bizarre timing, that I would think to show up today!

I know, I know. This may not turn out to be anything, and I’ll be back in the land of sulkery and self-pity. But hey! At least my spirits are up now! And maybe God knew that I wouldn’t have been happy with those other jobs, anyway, or that I would have sucked at them. He works in Mysterious ways.

Spring is finally here, and this is the time I stop hibernating. Winter really makes me not want to go outside, or do anything, really. I just hope it doesn’t snow again. Those poor robins. Now, for the update.

1. Infamous Job hunt
Still looking. I am awaiting to find out if I got a job as a program supervisor at the YMCA, but given my past experiences of “good” interviews not bearing fruit, I’m not expecting the best. I was offered one full day at the nursing home I work at on Mondays (8 hours instead of 4), so I may take that, but that may hinder any future attempts at finding a full-time job on the side. So, it’s a bit of a gamble. Man, finding work sucks. It’s like, you’ve got something to offer the world, and no one wants your help. It’s a cruel world out there.

2. Musical
On a happier note, Will and I are pretty much finished the first half of our musical. It feels even more official, because I now have the Allegro Finale program, which allows me to put my music on the computer and print it out so it looks professional (sorta). We’re moving along faster now, and we will start recruiting for actors and musicians soon. We will make a more official appeal at a later time, but this is just a heads up. If any of you are interested, let us know.

3. V for Vendetta (NOTE: If you haven’t seen the movie, and you want to, or do not care to, DO NOT read this, because this will not make any sense and give away much)
Will and I saw this movie with a friend a few days ago, and I thought it was awesome (albeit a little unnecessarily violent). It’s one of the few movies I’ve seen that manages to be entertaining, keep you on your seat, and stay at a peak the WHOLE 2 hours! Most movies start off great, then have a lull, then it gets better, than a lull, etc. Not this one. It was intense the WHOLE time. Anyway, I’m not writing this as a movie review, but rather to get some ideas from other viewers to help resolve a debate between us 3 who watched it.

My friend and I were convinced that “V” is a man, who, through the letters received from the woman in the cell next to him, fell in love with her, and that’s why he uses her roses after each killing, and that’s why he laters tells Evey that he never thought he could love again.

Will, however, had a intriquing and increasingly convincing theory. He felt that “V” WAS the woman in the other cell. For example, after the fire, “V’s” body becomes so morphed, that you can’t really tell. Also, the fact that there is a substantial scene about the lesbian woman and her lover seems superfluous if there isn’t a greater connection than is presented in the movie. And, the fact that “V” could be a lesbian woman fits with the fact that “V” falls in love with Evey. Also, it fits more that “V” uses the same roses that the lesbian woman and her partner grew in their home. Also, it fits that “V” has this whole shrine dedicated to that woman (wow, this must sound weird to someone who hasn’t seen the movie, and has decided to read this). About the male voice, Will pointed out “V” could have had a voice box under the mask (somewhat Darth Vader like). Also, the whole movie is about how there are no coincidences and how EVERYTHING is connected. So what are they trying to tell us?

In response to Will’s theory, my friend and I were saying that he couldn’t be the woman, because when Evey was in her mock cell, she received the letters through a hole in the wall, and “V” told her that he received that letter the same way she did (and aside from putting her in a mock cell without telling her, he never lied to her). Also, we said he had the shrine dedicated to that woman because he loved her (and not because he WAS her, as Will thought).

So! Having said that, I’d be interested in your input (assuming you have seen the movie). What do you think?

4. My friend’s mother
Since my last update, my friend threw a birthday party for her mother in the hospital 2 weeks ago, to which family and close friends were invited. Will and I went to that, and it was a touching event. More family showed up than she expected, and it was fun. Sadly, her mother was already on the downward slope, and was unable to be awake/conscious for any of it.

Then last Friday, Will and I went down for a quick visit, which would be our last. We spent a few hours chatting with my friend, and she told how us she has grown and what she has learned throughout this experience. It felt very final and conclusive to all of us, but we didn’t truly know it. Just before we left, Will thought to say a prayer, so we both had a hand on my friend and her mother, and we prayed. After the prayer, my friend let out her sadness through tears and words of love She then escorted us to the subway, and as soon as she went back to the room, her mother’s breathing had already changed. The nurses said it would be a matter of minutes. My friend laid down beside her mother and whispered more words of love as she watched her mother’s breathing slow down, until she never took another breath again. The nurses said it was the most peaceful death they had seen in a long time. My friend believes (as do we) that her mother was just waiting for that last prayer, and waiting for us to leave so she could have one last moment alone with her daughter. They say that hearing is the last to go, and I truly believe that. When Will and I found out how her death happened, we both cried. I have never been with somone that close to them dying before, to be one of the last voices they hear. And my friend, she was there for it all, the whole journey from start to finish. She has so much wisdom and love to share from this experience, and I pray she does someday.